Unless you’re lucky enough to catch a swarm — not necessarily recommended for beginners — you’ll have to wait until next year to get a home hive going.

Spend the months between now and next spring learning about bees and their habits, figuring out what type of hive you’d like to have, and what kind of gear you’ll need.

A good beginning resource, though focused on the Langstroth method of beekeeping, is Howland Blackiston’s “Beekeeping for Dummies.” Now in its bazillionth printing, a new edition of the book is due this summer.

This book helps demystify what all the buzz is inside the box, explaining how the colony is organized and taking you step by step, from building your box, through the harvest.

Another good resource is John Vivian’s “Keeping Bees,” a breezy instruction manual that covers everything from the history of beekeeping to beeswax candle making.

And for the pure romance of the tale, dip into Holley Bishop’s “Robbing the Bees: A Biography of Honey, the Sweet Liquid Gold that Seduced the World.”

Author Blackison also owns the online beekeepers supply store, bee-commerce .com. Poke around there to understand the costs associated with a traditional setup, which can run several hundred dollars, for boxes, frames, tools and gear. Bees will run about $105 for a colony and queen, and shipping.

Corwin Bell’s website, backyardhive .com. is another great resource, although focused on the top-bar hive method of beekeeping. Like the Langstroth method, getting going can run several hundred dollars, not including bees.

Of course, the handier among us may want to build their own hives. If you’re confident — and own power tools — download plans for a from-scratch Langstroth hive and frames from beesource .com/plans. Bell has plans for the top-bar hive at backyardhive.com/weblinks. /Build_a_Topbar_Beehive, plus an instructional DVD.

Classes also help.

Bell teaches regularly; find a schedule at his website.

Various beekeepers associations around Colorado offer classes, too. The Northern Colorado Beekeepers Association, fortnet .org/NCBA., which will take on top-bar hives in July, the date and location to be announced. (The website has a great list of bee-friendly plants, too.)

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